Typhoon
Chapter Seven
-Wakeup Call-
"No."
"But Gaara!" Sakura huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "Why not?"
He mimicked her actions and gave her a hard stare, "Because, Sakura, you could get hurt, and I will not allow that to happen."
She rolled her eyes, adjusting her hands so that they were set on her hips. "Gaara that's stupid. So what, I'm not allowed to go on missions anymore? Because you're afraid?"
"I'm not…afraid…" he tried to correct her, even though it was the truth. He was afraid. He was fearful for the first time in his life. "And you can go on missions, as long as I am there to protect you."
Tsunade cleared her throat and gave the redhead a harsh glare. "Which will not be allowed. As Kazekage you know that if anything did happen to you, per chance, that it could start a war. It also looks bad if we need help from a Kage to go on a simple recon mission."
"But-"
"No buts!" the blonde raised her finger to silence him. "Until the wedding, Sakura is still a Leaf shinobi, and therefore under my command, not yours. She was assigned this mission because her skills are needed for it, not because I'm trying to be cruel to you."
Still determined not to leave her side, Gaara persevered. "Yes I understand, but couldn't I just tag along? I won't do anything."
"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" Tsunade elongated her word. "I'm sorry Kazekage, but you're just going to have to find something to do around the village until Sakura gets back."
"It'll be fine. I'll only be gone for two days, it won't take that long." Sakura assured, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Two days?!" he growled, recalling the two days he had been without Sakura when she first left Suna six months ago. "But Sakura…two days is agonizing."
"I know. But when I get back we can go to Suna, and then I'll be too far away for Shishou to send me on any missions." She assured him.
Reluctantly he gave his nod of approval. "Fine. But…hurry back."
"I will. Want to walk me to the gate?" Sakura asked hopefully, not yet ready to say goodbye.
Giving her teacher a small glare, Gaara took Sakura's hand and walked out. He was going to walk her there as slow as possible, he wanted to soak in every last moment he had with her. "So…what am I supposed to do while you're gone…?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. You could take in the sights, train with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, scare Shikamaru away from Temari… there's all kinds of things you could do." Her eyes widened, suddenly remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot." She reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out her house keys. Handing them to him, she said, "Here. You can stay at my place if you want to while I'm gone. You don't have to, but, you know, just in case…." She trailed off, losing confidence in her idea.
He took the keys from her and nodded, "It'll be the closest thing to you I can get for the next two days." He sighed, placing them in his pocket. It wasn't too long before four other Konoha Anbu appeared, ready for the mission.
"Morning Sakura, Kazekage-sama." One of the female shinobi bowed.
Gaara stared down at Sakura for a while, knowing it was time for her to go. He placed his hands on her shoulders and let out a deep sigh. "Be careful…if something happened to you…I…I just don't know what I'd do." He admitted.
"I will. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." She said, giving him a reassuring smile.
He nodded, trying to keep himself from becoming too depressed. After all, she wasn't even gone yet. He moved his hands from her shoulders and cupped her face, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you, please…come back safely." He leaned down, pressing his lips against her and giving her a soft kiss.
She blushed, returning his kiss. Pulling away, she cupped his face with her hand. After a few moments, it was time to leave. So, with a sigh, she pulled away from him.
"Don't worry Kazekage-sama, I'll make sure she returns safely." An Anbu with an eagle mask reassured him.
Giving his face another gentle caress, Sakura turned and walked towards the gate. And with one final look back, she jumped into the trees with her Anbu team.
He stared of after her, not leaving his spot until he could no longer feel her chakra. The next two days would be some of the loneliest of his life. He was just glad that after this he would never have to be without her ever again. His sand finally picked up and swept him away to try and occupy his time.
Two Days Later…
The mission did not go as planned. Sure, they had gotten all the information that they needed, but as they were leaving Waterfall Country, they were attacked. They fought long and hard, and she was just barely able to get out of there alive.
A wave of remorse washed over her then. The entire Anbu team had been killed in the battle. She was there to heal them and heal them only. So, even though she wanted to help fight, her chakra was needed for something else. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to force the memory out of her mind for the time being, but it plagued her thoughts.
She knelt over one of the fallen Anbu members, who was bleeding terribly from his left side, "It'll be ok," Sakura tried to assure him, focusing all her power on the wound now. She couldn't let him die.
A sharp gasp came from the man on the ground, "Sakura!"
She turned her head around, going wide eyed. One of the Waterfall shinobi lunged at her, ready to attack her in her open stance.
In a mad dash the man who was wearing the eagle mask dove in front of the healer, taking the blow for her. He quickly killed the other ninja, but not before he was fatally injured. He laughed, trying to defend her still as she healed his teammate.
"Why?!" Sakura demanded, tears forming in her eyes.
She could hear his forced laugh. "I promised the Kaze…kage…even I know he's had too much pain in his life. As an Anbu, I am dedicated to our Kage…and since Kazekage-sama is close to the village, he will receive the warmth from our fire as well!"
She wondered if he would have made that promise to Gaara had he known it would cause him to die. But part of her told her that he would have done it regardless.
On top of that, she had to join the battle anyways, and was now suffering from complete chakra exhaustion. Her body was tired, her mind needed rest, and she was emotionally drained. And one of the enemy ninja had poisoned his kunai and managed to graze her cheek with it. She groaned as another memory came over her mind then.
By now everyone had either been killed or fatally injured, and she had to join the fight in order for them to get out of there safely. She killed off one of the last ninjas, getting caught by surprise in the process by a huge guy who had kept himself hidden. She dodged in the nick of time, but her cheek had been cut. The man laughed at her.
"You're dead now. It won't even matter if you make it out of this battle alive. The moment I cut your cheek your fate was sealed." He chortled maniacally.
Poison. She disposed of him shortly after. Then she joined in the other battle with the female Anbu. In the process, her left side had gotten hit with some sort of jutsu that had an acidic property. So her clothes where melted a bit, and the skin covering her left arm and side was gone, leaving her injured muscles for the world to see. She and the Anbu were able to defeat the last enemy ninja, but not before the Anbu got hit in the chest with the acid jutsu, causing fatal damage to her lungs and other important internal organs. Running over to the last living ninja, she hoisted the girl up onto her shoulders, grimacing at the pain on her left side, but intent on carrying her the whole way back to Konoha.
"Sakura-sama, put me down." The girl croaked out.
Complying with her wish, she gently lowered her to the ground. "We have to keep moving. It won't take long for me to get you to the village." Sakura explained hurriedly, since she was beginning to feel the effects of the poison.
Reaching into her kunai holster, the Anbu pulled out the mission scroll. "Take this to Hokage-sama. It has everything we were able to gather. My time is up in this world. I have just enough chakra to get rid of my body and the others, so that no enemy ninja can learn our secrets or our identities."
The pink haired medic took the scroll wordlessly, and got up to go home, silent tears rolling down her face. It was all her fault. She wasn't a good enough medic to save any of them. She wasn't a good enough ninja to not get wounded. She wasn't a good enough fiancé to keep her promise. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. She focused what little chakra she had left to slow down the rate that the poison was spreading through her system. This would give her just enough time to make it home. Home to Gaara.
Sakura recognized the symptoms of her poisoning, but couldn't do anything about it until she was in the hospital in a lab.
So, staggering slowly and breathing heavily, Haruno Sakura made her way back to Konoha. When she saw the gates her hope was renewed. She had promised Gaara that she would return safely, and return she did, albeit not safely. As she neared the gate she could feel the effects of the poison impairing her movement. She had to make it, for Gaara. Just as she reached the gate and saw the guards' startled expressions, she noticed the ground getting closer to her, and, before she hit, her world went black.
Gaara let out a bored sigh. This was the day that Sakura had said she would be coming back. He wondered if he should just wait at the gate for her return. Deciding against that so he wouldn't appear too desperate, he leaned back against the bridge where he had proposed to Sakura.
He was content with watching the clouds float by, finding it somewhat calming. His peace was interrupted by two familiar chakras. Neji and Hinata appeared at the edge of the bridge, staring solemnly at him. "No." he simply said.
Both looked a bit confused. "What?" Hinata asked, stepping forward to tell the Kazekage the terrible news.
"I don't want to play croquet or go swimming or any one of the weird things you people do here." He explained, not even sparing them a glance.
Hinata looked down, unable to deliver the news to the unsuspecting redhead.
"Gaara." Neji said seriously, stepping forward and stopping beside his newfound friend.
Finally Gaara looked at him, suspicious from the aura the two were emitting. "It's Sakura."
He immediately perked up, almost excited. "She's back?"
"Well…" Hinata started.
The Kazekage could feel his muscles tensing, "What happened? Where is she?"
Neji cleared his throat, "Sakura was gravely wounded. She's in the hospital right now…she was the only one to come back from her mission. She's barely alive."
Gaara felt nothing. He had had this feeling before, and only when it had to do with Sakura. Everything had shattered for him, and there was nothing but darkness around him. Sand exploded from his gourd, swirling around him in a mad fury and causing Hinata and Neji to cover their faces to avoid irritation. When everything cleared they looked up to find him gone.
His entrance into the hospital lobby astonished most the staff and patients who were there. The furious, terrified Kazekage grabbed the nearest nurse by the shirt and held her threateningly. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!"
"R-Room 143A," she stuttered out, looking afraid for her life. He released her from his grip and took off down the hallway, trying to navigate through the building. He slid to a stop, seeing the matching room number, but felt his heart drop when he read the sign above it. Intensive Care Unit.
Luckily, there was a window built into the wall so that students could watch the procedures. He needed to see her, but he was afraid of what his reaction would be. Finally he looked in, doing his best to control his vortex of emotions. He had never seen Sakura so badly wounded. He gripped the clothes over his heart and tried not to panic. She was going to be alright, he told himself. After all, Tsunade was here, and he knew the Hokage would not let her student die.
"Shizune! Stabilize her now!"
"Yes Tsunade-sama!" The blonde Hokage had been working furiously on her student for six hours. She had to find out what type of poison was in Sakura's system and make an antidote. After that was administered, she needed to clean Sakura's wounds. It was a long process, because there was a lot of dirt embedded in her arm and side. Once that was clean, she got rid of all the traces of the acid, so that it wouldn't continue to eat away at her body.
At the moment she was healing her side, that being the more important wound. But Sakura was still fading, and fast. The battle and journey home had taken too much out of her poor student. Her body just wasn't strong enough to survive such a journey.
"Tsunade-sama! I'm losing her!"
She stopped in her healing and began to resuscitate Sakura. "Don't you die on me Sakura! You have people here who need you! I need you, Naruto needs you, and Gaara needs you! You can't leave us all with his wrath! He'll attack me, or worse, he'll destroy all my sake for sending you on that mission!" she yelled, hoping that her student could hear her.
Suddenly everything was fine, and the pink haired girl resumed her breathing. Then, something amazing happened. Her arm began to heal itself, slowly and steadily. Shizune gasped. "She must be using the chakra she gained to heal herself subconsciously. Is this possible?"
"Apparently so Shizune." Smiling, she continued healing Sakura's side. "I always knew you were a fighter Sakura. I always knew."
Tsunade walked out of the operating room, exhausted and sweating. She was met with a crowd of people waiting to hear the news on their pink haired friend. Ignoring everyone else, she walked straight over to Gaara. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she asked,
"Would you like to go in?"
The redhead stared at the woman, nodding slowly. She could tell that he was doing all in his power to keep his sadness in. He walked past her and stopped with his hand on the doorknob, before glancing back. "Thank you…Tsunade." He pushed the door open then and closed it quickly. The room was dim, and Sakura was fast asleep, most likely recuperating. Gaara went to the viewing window and pulled the curtains over it so they could have some privacy from the crowd.
He walked slowly to her side, taking her hand carefully in his. He didn't want to wake her from her rest, after all. "I'm…so happy." He said to her, knowing that she couldn't hear. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, getting to his knees then and taking her hand with both of his. He couldn't believe how overwhelmed with relief he was. He let his forehead rest on the hospital bed and shut his eyes tightly. "Sakura…I'm so relieved…I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you." He whispered, and then finally released the emotions he had been holding in. He felt something slide down his cheeks, something that he hadn't felt since he was a small child. Giving her hand another tight squeeze, he allowed himself to cry for the first time in fifteen years.
Sakura eased her eyes open, feeling sore and utterly exhausted. She looked around the dim room, taking in the sight and noting she was in the hospital. She turned her head to the side and saw Gaara was fast asleep in the chair closest to her bed.
She let a small smile overcome her face. For a while she thought she would never get to see his face again. Her expression turned to one of pain as she remembered everything that happened. And, not wanting to wake him up, she tried to silence her sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Despite her attempts, the moment he felt her distress he was awake. He was up instantly and by her side, taking her hand with his. "Sakura what is it? Are you alright?" he asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and leaning over her. He wanted as much contact as possible. He moved his free hand to her cheek, wiping the tears away. He didn't want to see her cry. He just couldn't bear it.
She looked into his eyes that were so full of worry. She had caused him pain, it was all her fault. "N-n-no." was all she could get out before her body was wracked with sobs.
He repositioned himself so that he was beside her with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Now he just wanted her to cry, it seemed that the action made you feel better, as if you were letting all the sadness leave your body with the flow. "It's ok," he whispered into her ear, resting his head on hers. "Everything is going to be ok."
She pulled away from him, slightly angered at his words. "It's not going to be ok Gaara! They all died because of me! Because I wasn't good enough! How can you love such a failure?! I've caused you pain again by breaking my promise to return safely. All I'm good for is hurting people!" she wailed, the tears flowing down her face now.
He angled her chin up with his finger, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Sakura it is not your fault. I love you…I'll love you even if you go crazy and kill everyone we know. Nothing you can do will ever make me love you less. It's just impossible." He explained giving her a soft, comforting kiss. He wanted to take all her sorrows away. If it were possible he'd bear them all himself. "This is how our world works, people die and you are never going to be able to stop all of them. And please Sakura, I've caused you so much more pain…yet you continue to pour your love into my soul. So stop this, you and I both know you did your best and you came back…you came back to me…and that's all I could ever want." He said sincerely, kissing her again, this time remaining on her lips longer.
As he pulled away she wound her arms around his neck, bringing him back to her. She kissed him desperately, realizing that what he said was true. She still felt bad, but knew that it would only cause her more pain if she continued along that path. When they pulled away, she gave him a tender smile and caressed his cheek, just as she had the day she left.
"I was afraid I would never see you again. That's what kept me going." She admitted.
He let out a small laugh, "You know I would never let you die without seeing you again. So it was impossible that you would succumb to your injuries. Besides…" he stopped, his face becoming serious. "I would see you soon either way. This world…means nothing to me anymore if you are not in it."
She chose not to say anything about his admission, knowing that she would probably do the same if he were gone. Before anything more could be said on the matter, the door to her room was opened.
"I'm glad you're awake." Tsunade said, walking over and checking Sakura's chart. She decided not to comment on the fact that Gaara needed to give Sakura her space. She knew it would only result in angering the couple. Her face turned serious.
"Sakura, I need you to tell me everything that happened."
Knowing that she would have to talk about it eventually, she slowly began to sit up in the bed with Gaara's help. She told them the whole story, not being able to stop the tears from falling again. But Gaara was there for her, and so she was comforted. When it was all over, Tsunade sighed.
"Well I'm glad you made it back ok and you got the scroll. I'm sorry that you had to go through all that. A memorial will be held for the fallen Anbu." Tsunade said, trying to help her student feel better.
Looking up at her mentor, Sakura couldn't help but ask. "Shishou? How long have I been in the hospital?"
"Two days. You were immediately taken into ICU when you arrived, and Shizune and I operated on you personally. We almost lost you on the table at one point. But then you came back, and your body began to heal itself. Afterwards, you were in a miniature coma, too exhausted to function." The blonde admitted.
Sakura turned back to her lover and put her head on his shoulder. He had to wait for her for four days. "I'm sorry." She sighed, not wanting to be specific.
His only answer was a soft smile. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead lovingly. "It's alright Sakura. As long as you are alive it's ok. I'm just glad you're alright." He told her, almost forgetting that Tsunade was in the room.
The Hokage couldn't help but feel envious of the two. She remembered Dan and Jiraiya, both of which she had loved very much, and had had to endure both of their deaths. She didn't think either Sakura or Gaara had the mental capacity anymore to live without the other. You didn't see that too often in this messed up world of theirs.
She quietly left the room, wanting to give the young couple some peace and quiet before everyone else found out that Sakura had woken up.
